


A Green Glass Love

by SuperUltraMeme



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: American High School AU, Iwa being really thirsty, M/M, Minor Injuries, Musical theater AU, Pining, Stage Kissing, Unrequited Crush, awkward confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-20 08:36:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5999164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperUltraMeme/pseuds/SuperUltraMeme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Iwaizumi wasn't really sure why God hated him this much. He must have committed murder or something in a past life to deserve this. He was just trying to live a happy life without his gay crisis getting constantly shoved back in his face, but Oikawa Tooru was an incessant force battering his willpower.<br/>"Iwaizumi caught himself glancing briefly down at Oikawa's lips, wondering what it would be like to give in for once. He could see his bad decisions piling up, but instead of being responsible, he swallowed and said, 'Fine, but just this once.'"</p>
<p>In which it takes Iwaizumi many months of rehearsal, several injuries, a stage kiss, a stealth snapchat, and a really poorly timed discovery to realize that his crush on his best friend isn't the worst thing to happen to him, and just might be the best.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Green Glass Love

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I'm bad at stealthy exposition, and nowhere in this monster could I find an adequate place for a cast list, so here are all the important characters and their roles: Millie: Hinata, Jimmy: Oikawa, Mrs. Meers: Sugawara, Mr. Graydon: Iwaizumi, Miss Dorothy: Asahi, Mrs. Flannery: Daichi. I realize Thoroughly Modern Millie is a fairly obscure show, but I had to because Oikawa /is/ Jimmy Smith.
> 
> EDIT: Aight so this posted on the wrong date the first time I published, thanks AO3. Let's try this again.

 Iwaizumi leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, absorbing the quiet of the empty theater. All he could hear was his own breathing, the hum of the AC, and someone's footsteps as they walked onto the stage.

_Step, shuffle, ball change._                

Iwaizumi could hear the steps even though the dancer wasn't wearing tap shoes.               

_Maxie Ford, stamp, stamp, pullback, stamp, stamp, pullback._                

The sounds continued, and after a while, Iwaizumi recognized the beat. It was the dance break in _Forget About the Boy_ , performed perfectly. At least one ensemble member had her shit together.             

The dancer continued into the tap solo in the middle, executing the most difficult dancing in the show without a hitch.               

Hang on.                

The ensemble wasn't called today.               

Iwaizumi's eyes shot open to behold Oikawa Tooru tap dancing flawlessly in his normal shoes to a number he wasn't even in. He reached the beginning of the refrain.               

" _Shout hooray and hallelu, now me and Mr. Wrong are through_." His voice naturally carried to the back of the theater without a mic.               

"When the hell did you learn that dance?" Iwaizumi interrupted his performance.               

"Just from watching. _I'll find myself another beau who I know is no ro-ver_."               

"Wait, wait let me practice with you!" Iwaizumi turned to see a girl in messy orange braids running down the aisle. She threw down her bag and jumped onto the stage.               

The decision to cast this freshman, Hinata, as Millie had raised eyebrows. However, she was perfect for the role. She had all the spunk and charm that the character required as well as fantastic stage presence. The only problem was she hadn't done very much theater before this. Right now, she just had potential and great instincts. Polishing her into an actress was proving to be a challenge for the director.                

"Chibi-chan you should already have this dance down. You're starring in it, aren't you?"               

"Ok I have some of it. I just need help with my time step."               

"I don't have to help you." Oikawa hopped off the stage and took his seat next to Iwaizumi.                

"Hey, quit being an ass." Iwaizumi gave him a well-deserved smack to the back of his head as Hinata yelled indignantly from the stage.               

"Iwa-chan, mean!" Oikawa rubbed his head, pouting. "What if you hit me so much I become bald?"               

"Want to find out?"                

The house doors opened once again and two more girls walked in. One was Shimizu, their stage manager. The other was Asahi, a tall but very meek girl who was playing Miss Dorothy.               

"Mr. Takeda said he'd be a little late today." Shimizu explained, getting settled at her table.               

"Does he want us to go ahead and warm up?" Oikawa offered. Shimizu did a quick head count.               

"It'd be best to wait," she replied.               

"Asahiii. Can you come help me with my time step?" Hinata hollered from the stage. Asahi brushed her hair behind her ear.               

"Ah, I'm not really the best at tap, but yes, I can probably help." She joined the shorter girl on stage.               

"’Not the best at tap,’ she says with her separated pullbacks." Oikawa sunk far into his seat and propped his legs on the row of seats in front of him. Iwaizumi swatted at his legs.               

"Keep your feet off the chairs."               

"Hnnnnnnn Iwa-chan you don't let me have any fun." Iwaizumi ignored him and pulled out his music book and a pencil. The two of them had already practiced this piece at home and had their harmonies down. This helped both them and Takeda, the music director, because a good deal of rehearsal time had to be spent on Hinata.               

"Aggggh, what am I doing wrong?" Speaking of Hinata.               

"You're stepping instead of flapping, see?" Asahi tried once more to explain the move to her.               

"Like this?"               

"Ah yeah. Close enough..."               

"Sorry I'm late!" Takeda burst in from the back of the house and hurried down the aisle.               

"You're actually right on time," Shimizu replied without looking up from her binder. Takeda got settled in by the piano as the four actors grabbed their music and gathered around him.               

"Alright, I want to start with the duet portion, so Hinata, let's go over these harmonies quickly." Oikawa made eye contact with Iwaizumi and mouthed the word "quickly" while making air quotes. Iwaizumi kicked his shin as surreptitiously as possible.

 

* * *

 

"I'm so fed up with these freshmen!" Oikawa's expression was as salty as the fries he was shoveling into his mouth. "And let's face it, the men's ensemble is just one big joke. The only good dancer they have is Tobio-chan and that doesn't make me feel any better."               

"I know what you mean. Except I don't mind Kageyama. You just can't stand him because he's a freshman and already an understudy."               

"You're right, I can't stand him." Oikawa took a vindictive sip of his milkshake. The two boys were in their usual post-rehearsal spot, which was on top of Iwaizumi's van, stuffing their faces. Their tradition was to go to the Cook Out down the road from the school, order their food, and eat it in the parking lot on top of the van. They had become a familiar sight around the restaurant.               

Oikawa set his cup down angrily.               

"Ok and while I'm at it-"               

"Are we here to study lines or bitch about the cast?"               

"Both."               

"Just get through this scene."               

"Ugh, fine. Where were we?" Iwaizumi flipped his script open.               

"Let's see... Millie says, 'The new woman chooses reason over romance any day of the week. And I'm a new woman.'"               

"Tell 'em, Iwa-chan."               

"Oikawa."               

"Ok, ok. 'Marrying for money's the oldest trick in the book.'"               

"'It beats marrying for paper clips.'"               

"'Then maybe we shouldn't see each other again.'"               

"'What do I care?' Skipping to the end... 'Flower to flower to flower.'" Oikawa stared at the roof of the van.               

"Ahhhh, shit. Is it 'Golddigger'?"               

"Not yet." Iwaizumi took a sip of his drink.               

"I swear to god they have this exact same conversation twelve times. Let me see." He leaned over and read out of the script in Iwaizumi's lap. "Dammit, I knew that one. Ok 'You got a problem with that?'"               

"'I'm merely suggesting you grow up, skirt chaser.'"               

"'Golddigger.'"               

"'Womanizer.'"                

"'Jezebel.'"               

"'Casanova.'" Without hesitation, Oikawa suddenly leaned over and kissed Iwaizumi on the cheek. Iwaizumi felt his face flush and slapped a hand on his cheek as if he had just been injured.               

"What the hell?"               

"I'm just following the stage directions. You have to kiss me back now."

"What I will do is push you off this roof." Oikawa laughed and slid off before Iwaizumi could make good on his threat.

"I'll be right back. Oh hey, toss me my wallet." Iwaizumi chucked it as hard as he could at Oikawa's gut. "You want anything?"

"Onion rings. And you're paying." Oikawa laughed again and headed towards the window. Iwaizumi stared after him.

No seriously, what the hell was that? More importantly, why hadn't his heart stopped pounding yet? It was just a kiss on the cheek, but...

Iwaizumi found himself faced with a problem. It was a problem he had been forced to deal with very often recently. Every time it came up, he handled it the exact same way: he shoved those obtrusive feelings aside and told himself he'd deal with it later. Of course, the more he ignored his feelings, the more they grew, until recently he had finally forced himself to admit.

He might have a little crush on Oikawa.

It wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't. It would go away in time. Iwaizumi just hadn't had a date in a while and was getting lonely, that was all. It wouldn't grow into anything, and honestly, it couldn't. They had a good thing going, and it wasn't worth ruining.

Thus, Iwaizumi continued shoving his feelings aside instead of dealing with them properly.

Oikawa returned shortly with more food (how in god's name does he eat so much?). He slid the bag on top of the roof then held his hand out for a boost. Iwaizumi looked over at his hand then turned back to reading the script. Oikawa pouted, then over-exaggerated the struggle of getting back up.   

"Ok but I hope Chibi-chan and I don't have to actually kiss."

"For her sake, I hope so too."

"That's cold, Iwa-chan. Can we run the end of that scene one more time? I need to make sure I don't forget that one line."

"No."

"Why not?" Iwaizumi opened his mouth to answer, but stopped. He just shook his head and held the script out for Oikawa.

"Let's just keep going." Oikawa looked at him for a long moment before taking the script. It was impossible to read his expression, but it still made Iwaizumi feel a little disconcerted. It almost felt like Oikawa had understood his thoughts without him saying anything.

 

* * *

 

Listening to the music blaring through the speakers, Iwaizumi kept time with his heel as he was counted in.

"Ok, 5, 6, ready, and, step, kick, step, kneel, group 1, 2, 3, 4, hitch kick, step step step. Ok, good." The music came to an abrupt stop. Ukai, the director/choreographer, turned to face the cast. "When you're in those groups, you guys have to be counting, ok? And make sure you're done turning by the next count. It looks really sloppy right now, but I know that'll work itself out with time." He looked at his watch. "Take two for water."

"Thank you, two." Iwaizumi made a beeline for his water bottle. 

Choreography rehearsals were probably Iwaizumi's favorite.

First, he was good at dance and enjoyed it.

Second, it was the only real exercise he got outside of PE.

And third, but most important, Oikawa Tooru.

Most kids show up to dance rehearsals in sweats and a t-shirt, but no, not Oikawa. He had been dancing since he could walk, so of course he had good reason to invest in dance clothes. He always wore nicely fitted pants and these shirts that hugged his chest and were just barely too short. Iwaizumi didn't even care that it wasn't socially acceptable to appreciate other men aesthetically, because he was appreciating. Platonically.

In addition, Oikawa was a fantastic dancer. It was incredibly unfair. He picked up choreography quickly, no matter how difficult it was and made it his own. Iwaizumi couldn’t count the number of times he’s gotten lost while watching Oikawa in a dance number. He shone so brilliantly when he was in his element.

Not like he'd ever say anything, of course. Oikawa's head was big enough, and he got plenty of compliments from the girls in the cast. Plus, the last time he complimented the boy's appearance, Oikawa had brought it up every day for a solid month afterward and even changed his contact name in Iwaizumi's phone, and basically it became a nightmare.

Speak of the devil. Oikawa approached to grab his water bottle which he had set down nearby. He sat down, took a long swig from his water, then pulled out his phone and scrolled through his notifications. Iwaizumi looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, what time is it?"

"Five till noon." Oikawa threw his phone in his bag then laid back on the floor. "Iwa-chan, it's too early for dancing. Saturday mornings are for sleeping in, not sweating."

"Get off the floor and quit whining."

"You're so harsh." Oikawa covered his face with his arms. Iwaizumi tried not to stare at the bit of midriff that had been revealed. He saw his best friend shirtless all the time; it was no big deal. Even so, those hip bones...

Nope. No. Not now, gay thoughts. He took another long drink as Ukai called everyone back onto the floor. Iwaizumi set his water bottle down then felt a tug at his pants leg.

"Iwa-chan, help me up."

"No thanks." He started to walk away, ignoring Oikawa's pathetic groaning. How in the hell did anyone think this boy was cool? Eventually Oikawa stood up on his own, casting a persecuted look at Iwaizumi as they got back into their places and the song started. Iwaizumi counted himself in.

_Step, kick, step, kneel, 1, 2-_

 

 

 

_How did I get down here?_

The next thing Iwaizumi registered was the floor under his head, and the panicky freshman standing over him.

"I'm soooo sorry! Are you ok?" Iwaizumi lifted a hand to his forehead.

_Something feels weird here, just below the hairline._

 "Hold!" The music cut off, and Iwaizumi found himself surrounded.

"Wow, Yachi. Who knew you could kick that hard."

"I'm so sorryyy." She covered her face. Iwaizumi brought himself to a sitting position as Ukai approached.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Taking the plunge, he tried standing. Yeah, he was good. Well, the room probably wasn't supposed to be moving this much, but he was good. "I'm fine. I can keep going."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah it's not-" Iwaizumi felt someone grab his wrist and pull it away from his head. He turned to see Oikawa holding out his bloody hand. Wait, blood?

The pain suddenly kicked in.

"I'll help him clean this up. Please don't feel obligated to wait for us." Oikawa dragged Iwaizumi out of the room. Once they were in the hall, Iwaizumi wrenched his wrist free.

"I told you I'm fine."

"Don't insult me, Iwa-chan." Oikawa met his gaze squarely before taking his arm again and continuing down the hall.

"You're missing the choreography."

"It's fine. I'll just ask someone to teach it to us later." Oikawa led him into the nurse's office. Of course, being that it was a Saturday, the nurse was absent.

Oikawa made Iwaizumi sit down and dug around for a first aid kit. He found a pack of disinfectant wipes and pulled one out.

"Ok this is probably going to sting." Iwaizumi dodged away from his hand.

"I can take care of it myself. You need to get back in there."

"Iwa-chan, I don't trust you to rest properly. It's a head injury, so you need to take it seriously." He lifted Iwaizumi's chin gently but firmly and began dabbing at the wound.

Iwaizumi squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the burning feeling. He tried focusing on anything else to distract himself, but the only other things that were registering were the sound of Oikawa's breathing and his familiar scent. Being this close to Oikawa was a comfortable sensation, even if Iwaizumi would never admit to it.

Maybe it'd be better to focus on the stinging.

Oikawa's laugh cut through his thoughts.

"Iwa-chan, this bruise is exactly the shape of a character shoe heel."

"Don't laugh at my injury." Oikawa moved away, and Iwaizumi realized just how hot his head had become. He told himself it was the headache.

"Ok, this is the biggest band-aid I can find. I don't think it'll quite cover, buuut..." Oikawa unwrapped the band-aid and very carefully applied it to the wound. "Oh look, it does fit."

"Is there any kind of pain killer in there?"

"Let me see... Yep." Iwaizumi took the bottle from him and poured himself a cup of water. "Do you have a headache?"

"Yeah, but it's not too bad." He read over the instructions.

"You should lie down then."

"I told you it's not that bad." An obvious lie, as he proceeded to take the highest dose of the pain killer allowed. It actually felt like someone had stuck a hot knife through his temple.

"You're still going to lie down." Oikawa pointed to the couch on the opposite wall.

"I'm not."

"You are, and I'm going to keep an eye on you." Oikawa sat squarely on the couch.

"You idiot, get back to rehearsal. I can lie down in the studio."

"No, because then you'll be thinking about the dance."

"Well then you go back, and I'll stay here."

"I told you, I don't trust you to take care of yourself. Lie. Down." Iwaizumi recognized his tone of voice. It was one he seldom heard. It said "even Iwa-chan can't change my mind right now."

Begrudgingly, Iwaizumi sat next to him on the couch. However, there wasn't quite enough room to lie down if...

"Move over. I don't have anywhere to put my head."

"There's plenty of room." Oikawa motioned to his lap.

"Goddamn you I am not-"

"You need to elevate your head. I swear... Come here." Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi's head and pulled it down to rest in his lap. Iwaizumi shut his eyes against a wave of dizziness. He found himself overwhelmed once again by the other boy's scent. The same heat returned to his head as he felt how familiar this was. It was... nice.

He told himself he was letting it happen because he was a little spaced out. He closed his eyes as Oikawa ran his fingers through his hair, humming one of the songs from the show. It was relaxing, but Iwaizumi felt guilty for some reason. He briefly let himself imagine a world in which this happened regularly and felt something pull inside his chest.

He needed to get over this crush before it hurt him anymore.

 

* * *

 

The closer it gets to the show, the more Iwaizumi realizes that he spends his entire life at the theater. It was especially torturous on this beautiful Saturday morning. Iwaizumi lamented having to spend his whole day at the school working on the set and props.

He wasn't alone in his misery. Oikawa had complained the whole car ride, but mostly because he didn't want to wake up so early on a Saturday. He complained until Iwaizumi took the detour to swing by Starbucks to shut him up.

The two boys got there early enough to choose what they wanted to work on. They opted to paint and were assigned to make the hotel and office signs with Matsukawa and Hanamaki. They also ended up outside, much to Iwaizumi's delight.

"Ok, Ukai gave us these ideas, but said we can do whatever we want as long as we stick to these colors." Hanamaki held out a piece of paper with several examples on it.

"I'm good with lettering, so I can do the outline," Oikawa said. "Makki, you should probably do the actual painting."

"I am pretty fucking amazing with a brush." Hanamaki tried to twirl a paintbrush, but ended up dropping it. Matsukawa let out one really loud HA, and the two boys stared each other down for a moment.

"I can cover things in paint," Iwaizumi offered. He wasn't nearly as talented with visual arts as Oikawa and Hanamaki.

"I can probably manage that, too," said Matsukawa.

"Ok, then Iwa-chan, you can start painting the office sign that teal color, and Mattsun that purple is for the hotel."   

"Roger that." Iwaizumi and Matsukawa laid out a drop cloth on the sidewalk and began painting while Oikawa and Hanamaki worked on design.

"Hey, I'm half on the sidewalk. Can you move your sign over?" Matsukawa asked.

"Yeah, sure." Iwaizumi began scooting his sign and in the process, managed to spill some of his paint on the sidewalk. "Nice." He grabbed a roll of paper towels and turned to begin cleaning it up, but suddenly stopped. He and Matsukawa made eye contact.

Oikawa had put his hand squarely in the paint spill, but he was so busy looking at something on his phone, that he didn't seem to notice. The two boys sat and watched for a long time, wondering when he'd figure it out. Matsukawa slowly pulled his phone out to take a picture.

Eventually Oikawa lifted his hand to scratch around his eyebrow, and ended up with a big teal streak over his eye. He looked at his hand in disgust.

"What the hell?" The other boys began laughing at him. Hanamaki rolled onto his back, gasping for breath. When he had collected himself enough, he gestured towards Oikawa dramatically.

"Ladies and gentlemen, whether you like it or not... Hedwig!" Everyone began laughing harder when they realized that the smudge looked almost exactly like Hedwig's traditional eye makeup. Oikawa's entire face lit up, and he jumped to his feet.

"Don't you know me, Kansas City? I'm the new Berlin Wall. Try and tear me down!" The four of them broke into laughter again.

"Oikawa please play Hedwig," Hanamaki said.

"I should. I'd be an amazing Hedwig. Can't you see me in fishnets?"

"Please don't make me imagine you in fishnets," Iwaizumi begged.

"Your German accent needs work," Matsukawa added.

"The world is full of critics!" Oikawa sat back down.

"I'm rooting for you."

"Thank you, Makki. Iwa-chan, help me get this off my face."

"Sure." Iwaizumi grabbed a paper towel, wadded it up, and spat on it. "Lift your head." Oikawa recoiled.

"You are not putting that on my face!"

"Ok then." He turned his attention back to cleaning up the paint spill.

"Iwa-chaaan, you still have to help me."

"I already tried."

"Come on." Oikawa grabbed Iwaizumi's arm with his clean hand and started dragging him into the building.

"Why me?"

"You spilled the paint, didn't you?"

"So?" Oikawa pulled him into the bathroom. Iwaizumi sighed as he wet a paper towel. "You know you can do this by yourself."

"You should learn to take responsibility for your mistakes, Iwa-chan."

"I'm about to put soap near your eye. You should probably think twice before getting smart with me. Ok, keep your chin up." Oikawa lifted his chin, but Iwaizumi realized he couldn't quite see what he was doing. "Damn your height."

"Aww, are you too short to- Owww, what was that for?"

"What do you mean, what was that for?"

"You know I just insult you because I love you." Iwaizumi was caught completely off guard. He quickly checked his face in the mirror to see if it was as flushed as it felt. Yep, he was pretty red. Cool.

"Don't say shit like that." Iwaizumi looked around for a moment before boosting himself onto the counter. "Ok, come here." Due to their position, Oikawa had to stand between Iwaizumi's legs in order for him to see what he was doing. He tried to ignore how quickly his face was heating up and began scrubbing the paint off. It was silent for a few moments, as Iwaizumi waited for the impending dirty comment.

"I hope nobody walks in on us like this. Owww, ow ow ow, Iwa-chan! You got soap in my eye!"

"Oops," he replied apathetically. He might have squeezed the paper towel a little harder than necessary.

"You're such a brute!"

"You literally asked for this. Now hold still." He gripped Oikawa's chin in his hand and tried to focus on cleaning the paint off instead of the way Oikawa had started playing with the outside seam of his jeans or how adorable his pout was. Wow it suddenly managed to get even hotter in here.

"Iwa-chan, you're getting kind of red there." Without even thinking, Iwaizumi connected his elbow with Oikawa's stomach, pushing him back. "Owww, what the hell was that for?"

"It's off. I'm going back outside." Iwaizumi threw the paper towel away and left before Oikawa could stop him.

GodDAMN that was weird. Iwaizumi was fully prepared to crawl into a hole and never have feelings again. He paused briefly to get a drink from a water fountain and try to remember who he was and how normal humans acted.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Matsukawa and Hanamaki jerk away from each other and scoot apart on the sidewalk. Iwaizumi looked back and forth between the two of them for a second before moving on.

"Thanks for getting so much done while we were gone," he commented. Everything was lying exactly how they'd left it.

"You're so welcome, man," Matsukawa wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Iwaizumi wasn't even going to go there.

"Where's Oikawa?" Hanamaki asked.

"I don't care." Iwaizumi sat down. Matsukawa and Hanamaki exchanged looks. "What?"

"Nothing." Matsukawa picked up the other paint brush and got back to work. Iwaizumi was very sure that he was missing something, as usual.

Probably several things, actually. He wasn't sure anymore.

 

* * *

 

"'Take a letter to a Mr. John Hudson, Hudson's Floor Wax. You'll find an invoice in the filing cabinet for the address.'"

"Yep, and then you know the rest of the song." Oikawa closed the script in his lap. "Was that all you wanted to go over?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty comfortable with the rest." Iwaizumi stretched his legs out and rested them on the coffee table. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon a week before tech week. All of the music had been learned, the choreography had been polished, and everyone was off book (at least they were supposed to be). It was just a matter of putting all of those elements together. The two boys had the house to themselves and were sitting in Oikawa's living room, running lines.

Oikawa nestled into the corner of the couch and tried putting his legs on Iwaizumi's lap.

"Hey, Iwa-chan."  

"What?" With one good shove, Oikawa's legs fell to the floor.

"We open in two weeks."

"Please don't remind me."

"Are you ready?" Oikawa folded his legs up and rested his chin on them.

"I am. I'm not sure about the rest of the cast." Oikawa nodded and fidgeted with the hem of his pants.

"Hey, Iwa-chan?"

"What."

"I need a favor."

"I never like anything you say after that." Oikawa smiled and picked at his sleeve.

"I need someone to practice my stage kiss on." Iwaizumi blinked. Had he heard him right?

"What?"

"Iwa-chan, please. Do not make me practice with Chibi-chan."

"Haven't you done stage kisses before?"

"Yeah, the kind where you actually kiss. I need to work on my fake kiss."

"Why don't you ask one of your fangirls? They'd be lining up to practice with you." Oikawa ran a hand through his hair.

"I mean yeah, but there aren't any girls I like right now, and it'd be kinda misleading to ask one that I don't like. Also you know it's actually hard for me to get comfortable with people physically. Please, Iwa-chan." Iwaizumi looked at him for a long moment.

He wasn't really sure why God hated him this much. He must have committed murder or something in a past life to deserve this. He was just trying to live a happy life without his gay crisis getting constantly shoved back in his face, but Oikawa Tooru was an incessant force battering his willpower.

Iwaizumi caught himself glancing briefly down at Oikawa's lips, wondering what it would be like to give in for once. He could see his bad decisions piling up, but instead of being responsible, he swallowed and said, "Fine, but just this once."

"Thank you, god bless you." Oikawa stood up and pulled Iwaizumi into the middle of the room where they usually rehearsed.

Iwaizumi's skin was burning where Oikawa held his wrist. This was already a mistake.

"Ok, the first one, we're standing like... this." He oriented them so they were facing the right way.

"Hang on, Millie initiates that one, right? So you don't really have to practice that one."

"Oh, you're right. But the one in the finale..." He repositioned them, then finally looked down to meet Iwaizumi's eyes.

Their faces had been close before. There were incidents during games of Sardines and wrestling and trying to look at the same phone screen. But this time carried so much more weight. Even though it was just supposed to be a fake, practice kiss, they were both acting too nervous.

Iwaizumi waited for Oikawa to just play it off or tease him like he should be doing in this situation. He waited for him to laugh at his expression or get all melodramatic. For him to act like his usual, cool self. There was no trace of that demeanor right now. This was the raw, real Oikawa Tooru, caught off guard. Against his better judgment, Iwaizumi began to let himself think this meant something for both of them.

"Ok, so I use my downstage hand, right?" Oikawa tentatively brought his hand up and placed it on Iwaizumi's cheek.

"I guess." Iwaizumi was surprised he was able to speak. It felt like his throat had completely closed off.

"Ok, so it goes _'_ _Have you seen the way they kiss in the movies?'_  and then..." Ever so slowly, he brought his face closer to Iwaizumi's. The emotion in his eyes was real and intense before he closed them and slid his thumb over the other boy's lips. Iwaizumi fought for breath as Oikawa's lips met his thumb, only fractions of an inch away. Oikawa pushed hard into the "kiss" then pulled away. They stared at each other for a few uncomfortable moments.

"How was that?"

_Incredible._

"I don't know. The point of a stage kiss is how it looks, not how it feels."

"Ugh, you're right. What if you video it?" Iwaizumi sighed.

"As long as it gets deleted immediately. I'd rather not remember the fact that this happened." Iwaizumi pulled his phone out and opened the camera.

"Iwa-chan, so many people would kill to be in your shoes right now. At least try to appreciate that." Iwaizumi held his phone out at arm's length, trying to get them both in the frame. Why was his hand shaking so much?

"Ok, you ready?" He hit record then turned back to his best friend. Once again, Oikawa slid his hand on Iwaizumi's cheek, then slowly brought his lips in to touch the back of his thumb. Iwaizumi felt a gentle hand on his waist, and his breath hitched. It was suffocating to be this close. It was the worst kind of teasing he'd endured in his life. He fought the urge to rip Oikawa's hand away and pull him in for a real kiss.

This was definitely a mistake.

Oikawa pulled away, and Iwaizumi stopped the recording. He busied himself with his phone, trying not to look the other boy in the eyes. He pulled up the video, then shoved the phone at Oikawa.

"Here. I need to go pray now." Oikawa laughed and took the phone from him. Iwaizumi escaped into the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank half of it in one go. He leaned on the counter and put his head in his hands.

Ok he was fucked.

He’d stopped paying attention to his crush long enough for it to turn into something massive. He had pushed away any kind of romantic inclination for so long, and now it had blown up in his face. He couldn't keep telling himself it was because he was a desperate teenager anymore. It was specifically Oikawa that was driving him crazy.

Of course it would be Oikawa who would just come into his life and turn everything upside-down. No one else could ever have that strong of a hold on Iwaizumi's life.

He took another swig of his water then reluctantly headed back into the living room. Oikawa was sprawled out on the couch. Iwaizumi pushed his legs off to give him room to sit. Oikawa's legs swung right back into his lap.

"Here you go. It looks good, so thanks for helping me out." Iwaizumi took his phone back.

"I'd better make the Special Thanks section of the program for this."

"'Stage Kiss Assistant to Mr. Oikawa: Iwaizumi Hajime.'"

"Just keep in mind that if you mention this to anyone, I know where you sleep."

"You think I want anyone knowing I fake kissed you either? My popularity would plummet, sending me-" The rest of his sentence was cut off by the pillow that got launched into his face. While Oikawa whined about the pain, Iwaizumi unlocked his phone. He saw that Oikawa hadn't deleted the video. His finger hovered over the delete button, but he quickly locked his phone and put it in his pocket instead.

He had definitely made a mistake.

 

* * *

 

"And then yet another three-point turn in, so Iwaizumi you're going right, and then you hit the final pose, which we'll figure out eventually. Any questions?"

Yeah, Iwaizumi had a lot of questions. Matsukawa and Hanamaki had caught him and Oikawa up on the choreography they had missed during the whole getting-kicked-in-the-head incident. They had been taught half the dance in about five minutes.

"Nope. Can we run it from the dance break?" Of course Oikawa already had it down. Iwaizumi rubbed his temples.

"I need you to go over the break again. This is making my head hurt."

"Go! Sit!" Oikawa began steering him off the stage.

"I didn't mean literally! I just meant it was a lot at once."

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you feel fine." Oikawa's fingers brushed the bruise on his forehead, testing to see if it was acting up.

"Get out of my face!" Oikawa quickly backed off, worry shadowing his expression. Iwaizumi hadn't meant to flinch away, but ever since the stage kissing episode the day before, he had suddenly become very aware of every time they touched. Which was really very often. Even so, he noticed Oikawa holding back today. Neither of them addressed it, but it still hung heavy in the air between them.

"So Matsukawa, this is new."

"What's that, Hanamaki?"

"I've seen Iwaizumi act like Oikawa's mom before."

"Right, yes."

"But I can't say I've ever seen Oikawa be the responsible one before."

"Hey!" Oikawa interjected.

"Hmm, yes that's an excellent point."

"Don't agree with him!"

"Can we get back to the dance?" Iwaizumi really just wanted to focus on the show and try to forget the weird atmosphere between him and Oikawa right now.

"Ok sure. From the dance break?"

"I got the first part. What comes after the first turn?"

"Are you guys working on the opening?" A girl with short, white hair approached the group. "Mind if I join?"

"Sure, Suga. Haven't you been working on it with Sawamura?"

"Yeah, but I was probably more focused on her calf muscles than the dance. Just don't tell her I said that."

"I can't really blame you," Hanamaki replied. Sawamura was playing Ms. Flannery. She was probably the strongest dancer in the cast, but even she appeared to be no match for Sugawara's inability to learn dancing. She was great once she learned the moves, it just took a long time to get there. She was playing Mrs. Meers, a role that fortunately involved more acting than dancing.

"Alright so after that turn, your hands are here, and you pop your right leg, left, left again, right, then turn. On your right foot, Suga."

"Hell. Can you go over the feet?"

"Alright, actors, everyone listen up!" The dance lesson had to end, as Ukai started rehearsal. "We're rearranging the schedule a bit, so I need to see Oikawa and Hinata for about fifteen minutes. The rest of you go to the studio and work on your dances. Shimizu will come get you when we're done." The cast began filing out the doors. Sawamura came up to Sugawara.

"Hey, Suga. Do you want to ask if we can run lines instead?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"Mind if I join you?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Not at all," Sugawara replied. "Let's go ask."

Ukai said it was fine as long as they kept it down. The three actors took up residence in the middle of the house. Sawamura pulled out her script.

"Ok, Suga, you're up first. Let's start at scene 2."

"I'm going to grab my water. I'll be right back." Iwaizumi excused himself and walked to the front of the house where he left his belongings. He was now close enough to hear Ukai talking to Oikawa and Hinata onstage.

"So you've decided to go with a fake kiss?"

"Yes." They responded with equal firmness.

"Alright, that's fine. Have either of you done one before?" Hinata shook her head.

Oikawa responded, "Not in a show, but I've practiced."

_Don't look at him don't look at him don't you dare look at me._

Iwaizumi grabbed his water and marched back up the aisle.

"Can you show Hinata how to do one?" Iwaizumi rejoined the two girls in their seats. They were still working on Sugawara's scene, and Iwaizumi found himself tuning them out and watching what was happening onstage. He watched Oikawa explain how to place your hand and when to move your thumb and all the other details. When Oikawa leaned in to demonstrate, Iwaizumi felt a stab of emotion.

_Shit. I can't believe I'm actually jealous right now._

Iwaizumi briefly felt his heart stutter the way it had when he had met Oikawa's gaze at point blank range. He remembered the suffocation of being so close. However, the thing that remained foremost in his memory was the intensity of his expression. If Iwaizumi hated himself enough, he could almost believe Oikawa had meant it.

"Earth to Iwaizumi." He snapped back to reality when Sugawara poked his arm.

"Sorry, were you saying something?"

"Yeah, we're about to do the first office scene." Sugawara followed his line of vision to where Oikawa and Hinata were now arguing. "Yeah, I'd be jealous of Hinata, too."

"What?"

"You just looked so wistful, I assumed." Sugawara's smile was kind, but her words hit home. She was usually a little too good at reading people.

"The fact that they have great chemistry in their scenes is a testament to what incredible actors they are," Sawamura observed, as the duo continued arguing, finally interrupted by Ukai yelling at them.

"Their hatred truly knows no bounds." Sugawara tucked her legs up and leaned against Sawamura, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "I think we should have a stage kiss."

"Before we run away to China?"

"Yeah, maybe during the finale. Iwaizumi, have I told you my theory on how the show should end?"

"You might have mentioned it before."

"Alright. So Mrs. Meers manages to seduce Ms. Flannery on the way to the police station, and they elope and run away to China and live an extravagant life of crime. Millie realizes that being modern is still important to her, and she's known Jimmy for what, two weeks? So she doesn't get engaged to him and instead falls for Miss Dorothy."

"So far you've just made the whole thing as gay as possible," Iwaizumi interjected.

"And then Mr. Graydon and Jimmy support each other through the loss of their love interests and begin an illicit boss-employee relationship."

"I would just like to take a moment to thank the writers for ending the show the way they did," Iwaizumi responded.

"You and me both," Sawamura added. "Well, minus the running away to China part. That part's good." Sawamura kissed her girlfriend's forehead, and Sugawara beamed up at her.

"You two are adorable."

"We know." Iwaizumi turned his attention back to the stage. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw Oikawa and Hinata in the middle of a "kiss." Sawamura was right. They really were good actors. They made it look almost real. Iwaizumi felt his stomach twist.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

He stood up abruptly.

"I'll be right back. You can just skip over my first scene. I know it."

"Ok, sure." He tried to ignore Sugawara's concerned expression as he made his way out of the theater and down the hall to the bathroom. He leaned against the counter and stared into a sink as if the answers to his problems laid there.

This was bad. This was so bad. Iwaizumi felt sick.

He knew that something needed to be undone, but he wasn't sure what. He needed to move past his romantic feelings, but how the hell do you do that?

Iwaizumi tried breaking it down. This was going to end one of three ways. 1. He doesn't get over his feelings, confesses to Oikawa, and they start dating. Incredibly slim chance of that happening. 2. He doesn't get over it, confesses, Oikawa turns him down, things become weird between him and his best friend. He would rather cut off a toe than lose his best friend so that was a no. And finally, 3. He suffers in silence until it goes away.

As of right now, option 3 was looking like the only valid choice.

Iwaizumi groaned out loud, then quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard.

It's ok. Maybe he'd just have to ask for advice. Maybe Suga knows what to do. Maybe it's actually really easy. Maybe he should stop gripping the sink so hard. His hands were kinda starting to hurt.

"Iwaizumi, are you... ok?" Iwaizumi jumped at the sound of another voice. He whirled around to see Kageyama standing in the doorway giving him a weird look.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm... No, you know what? I don't know. I have no idea, and I'm going to walk away now." Completely flustered, Iwaizumi headed for the door.

"Is it anything I can help with?" Underneath that brutal exterior, this kid really was too good for this world. Iwaizumi paused for a second.

"Are you and Hinata officially together?"

"What?" He started.

"Sorry, that was weird. I'm just going to..."

"Why?"

Iwaizumi sighed and restrained himself from groaning again. Without looking at Kageyama, he asked, "How did you feel when you found out she'd have to do a stage kiss?" There was a long silence.

"Jealous, of course. I mean, she and I haven't even kissed yet." Another long pause. "Is this about Oikawa?"

"No!" Iwaizumi started for the door but realized how guilty that made him look. He rubbed his face. "No, I just... Sorry. Sorry for saying anything." Without further ado, he speed walked out of the bathroom.

He stood in the hall wanting to scream. Cool, now he had terrorized his underclassman and definitely said more than he was supposed to. He hoped to god Kageyama wouldn't mention any of this to Hinata. At least he didn't have to worry about him telling Oikawa. The theater door opened, and Shimizu headed in his direction.

"Oh, Iwaizumi. We're starting on the finale."

"Thank you." Iwaizumi reluctantly headed back inside the theater.

He met Oikawa in the aisle. They shared a weird moment before Sugawara called both of them over. They sat down, and Oikawa was subjected to torment as he laced his character shoes.

"So how did you enjoy that?" Sugawara asked.

"I want to vomit."

"Surely, it wasn't that bad," Sawamura joined in.

"I feel impure."

"I can only imagine how bad she feels."

"Iwa-chan!"

"Or Kageyama," Sugawara added.

"Are they officially together yet?" Sawamura asked.

"I think they might be." Iwaizumi hadn't meant to say anything, but it slipped out.

"Oh really?"

"He and I were actually just talking."

"Aww, the boyfriends commiserating," Sugawara said sympathetically. Oikawa let out an ugly laugh, and Iwaizumi was fully prepared to crawl into a hole.

"Iwa-chan, are you jealous?"

"God is testing me."

 

* * *

  

When you've been best friends with someone for over fifteen years, unspoken traditions are often established. You tend to follow certain routines and patterns without even thinking or checking in on the other person.   

So when Iwaizumi picked Oikawa up for their last Saturday rehearsal, he asked himself why he was surprised when Oikawa tossed a duffel bag and several pillows in the back of his car. It had always been their tradition for Oikawa to spend the night before tech week, so why was he suddenly second-guessing it?

Rehearsal was rough. It sincerely felt like they wouldn't be ready in time, but Iwaizumi told himself it always felt like that. After grabbing food, the two boys headed home, spending the whole car ride bitching to each other.

They needed plenty of rest, so they decided to just watch a movie then go to bed. Iwaizumi found himself questioning another long-standing tradition of theirs, which was building a blanket nest on the floor which they both slept in. Oikawa was always incredibly cuddly and claimed that platonic spooning is a thing people do. Iwaizumi wasn't sure if he could manage sleeping next to him now.

They gathered up a bunch of blankets and threw them by the foot of Iwaizumi's bed. Iwaizumi started organizing them, but Oikawa suddenly stood up and headed out of the room, tossing an "I'll be right back" over his shoulder.

_Of course he leaves when the work starts. Well, more blankets for me._

Iwaizumi got settled in and messed around on his phone until Oikawa came sidling back in the room.

Hang on. Oikawa doesn't sidle.

Iwaizumi watched him cross the room and sit down. He was definitely walking weird. Almost as if...

_Shit._

"Iwa-chan, you have more blankets than me," Oikawa pouted as he began arranging his pillows.

"You didn't put any work in, so you don't deserve extra blankets."

"I guess I'll just have to steal them back during the night."

"I'd like to see you try." Oikawa sat down and leaned against the foot of the bed. He folded his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, lifting the leg of his pajama pants slightly. Iwaizumi reached over and pulled the hem up higher, revealing an ice pack strapped around his ankle.

"Oikawa, what's this?"

"It's nothing!" Oikawa swatted his hand away and pulled his legs in tighter.

"You complain about everything, but you haven't mentioned your ankle hurting once. Why?"

"Because it doesn't. I'm just taking preventative measures."

"Oikawa." Iwaizumi reached over and gripped Oikawa's knee hard. He let out a cry of pain before quickly covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Christ, not again."

Oikawa just pushed his hand away and pulled a blanket over his legs.

"You over-exerted yourself again!" Iwaizumi yelled.

"It'll go down in a few days! It always does!"

"You don't have a few days! It's tech week!"

"I know!" Oikawa fixed his eyes on the floor.

"Why haven't you mentioned it to Ukai?"

"I'm afraid he'll take me out of dances."

"So you'd rather keep stressing your legs?"

"I told you, it goes down in a few days." Iwaizumi sat back.

Oikawa's legs didn't handle stress very well. Maybe it was all the dancing he'd done over the years and how he fails to take care of himself and how he doesn't listen when his body is telling him to slow down. His doctor wasn't sure what the exact cause was. He just warned Oikawa not to over-exert himself. Of course Oikawa never took that advice and was constantly nursing swollen joints.

Iwaizumi sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright, well just keep it elevated and stay off it for tonight. I'll grab some more pillows. Have you taken any Advil?"

"Yeah." Oikawa was still staring at the floor. Iwaizumi stacked a few pillows on the floor in front of him. "Thank you Iwa-chan," Oikawa said quietly as he rested his foot on them.

"At least one of us has to take care of you." Iwaizumi sat next to Oikawa and leaned back against the foot of his bed. "Ok, you ready?"

"Yep." Iwaizumi started the movie.

He tried to focus on the story instead of worrying about his best friend or feeling the way he had snuggled up against him. He tried focusing on anything other than the way Oikawa was absentmindedly tracing up and down the backs of his fingers. He tried to distract himself from the sudden compulsion to lace his fingers with Oikawa's or wrap an arm around his waist.

He tried but failed, and spent the better part of an hour and a half simply being in Oikawa's presence and wondering where they could go from here.

 

* * *

  

Iwaizumi spent a long time in the state between consciousness and sleep before finally admitting he wasn't getting any rest. Eventually, he forced himself to wake up, sliding his eyes open slowly.

His first thought was _'_ Goddamn this,' and his second was 'Where the hell is my clock?'

He remembered he was sleeping on the floor next to Oikawa. He fished around in the blankets until he found his phone. Bracing himself, he took a peek at the time, then spent a good five minutes recovering from the brightness of his phone screen. It was around 2 in the morning.

He rolled onto his back and let out a long breath.

_This is not how I need to start tech week._

He stared at the ceiling for a long time, dozens of thoughts running through his mind, but none worth thinking. His trance-like state was interrupted when Oikawa rolled over onto his stomach and landed practically on top of him. His head ended up on Iwaizumi's shoulder, and one arm was slung around his waist. Iwaizumi let out an exasperated grunt. This kid can sleep in any position.

He shifted slightly so Oikawa's head wasn't cutting off circulation in his arm, then closed his eyes and listened to the sound of his breathing. Oikawa breathed very deeply when he slept. It was borderline snoring. It was actually kind of adorable.

_God, this is unfair._

Tentatively, he lifted his hand and ran it through Oikawa's hair. It felt just as perfect as it always looked. He could smell the expensive hair products he always used. It was a comfortable, familiar scent. Iwaizumi leaned his head against the other boy's and closed his eyes tightly.

He let himself relax for a moment.

He decided he would stop fighting it just this once. Right now, he was so comfortable. He never wanted to separate from this moment. He gently tucked his head in to kiss Oikawa's temple, letting his lips linger a second or two longer than necessary.

Iwaizumi stayed awake a long time just letting himself feel.

One thought stayed in his head until he fell asleep and would remain there a long time afterwards.

_I really want this boy._

* * *

 

Iwaizumi woke up one more time that night.

He felt Oikawa's weight still heavy on his shoulder.

He felt Oikawa's hand balled in his shirt.

He felt the boy’s back shaking with sobs.

He felt the tear stains on his shirt sleeve.

He heard Oikawa whisper his name.

He tried to wake himself up, but sleep came crashing back over him too soon.

 

He didn't remember the next morning.

 

* * *

 

They woke up late the next morning and prepared for their eight hour rehearsal. Iwaizumi drove them both to the theater, stopping for a much-needed cup of coffee on the way.

They spent the first four hours going through the arduous process of going from light cue to light cue, standing in their places as the lighting was adjusted around the actors and set. After what felt like an eternity, they took a dinner break.

Iwaizumi was sitting at a table outside enjoying the waning daylight, when he was joined by Hanamaki and Matsukawa. Matsukawa set his food down, then pulled out his phone.

"So, one-night stand or an ongoing thing?" He showed Iwaizumi a picture on his phone. It was a snapchat of Oikawa smiling brilliantly and lying on Iwaizumi's chest, his hand still tangled in Oikawa's hair. Iwaizumi felt it like a pang in his stomach.

"When did he take this?" He tried to grab the phone, but Matsukawa moved it out of his reach. Iwaizumi saw Oikawa walking out of the building and heading towards their table. "When did you take that?" Oikawa looked at Matsukawa's phone.

"This morning before you woke up." He sat down. "I think it makes pretty good blackmail."

“You’re the one who rolled onto me.” Iwaizumi looked at the picture again and felt a stab of emotion. It was the same bittersweet pain he had felt when he watched the video of them stage kissing.

"You didn't answer my question. One-night stand or nah?"

"Probably just a one-night stand." Oikawa shot Iwaizumi a grin. Iwaizumi turned back to his food and covered by pretending to be angry.

Really, he felt sick.

He didn't need yet another reminder that Oikawa couldn't return his feelings. He especially didn't need a reminder that Oikawa just treated him like a joke. The one time Iwaizumi let himself have a moment, Oikawa had gone and defaced it immediately.

He told himself it was a sign. If nothing else, this could help him move on.

He tuned back in to the table and realized there was a lull in the conversation, punctuated only by Oikawa taking loud sips of tea. Eventually, he broke the silence.

"What did we do as a society before Throat Coat tea?"

"You're not getting sick, are you?" Iwaizumi stared him down.

"No, just taking care of myself." Oikawa took another long sip. "Plus I'm worried that Ukai's gonna make us run the show twice later tonight."

"We don't have time. It's running longer than we thought," Hanamaki replied.

"That and we still have to incorporate more set pieces and props." Iwaizumi rubbed his forehead. They still had a really long way to go.

"Oh, that reminds me." Oikawa set his fork down. "I'll be right back."

Iwaizumi had been keeping tabs on Oikawa all day, but anyone would've noticed the obvious grimace on his face when he stood up. His legs must've been in a lot of pain at this point, but he barely showed it. He quickly headed back into the building, lilting only slightly.

Iwaizumi wasn't sure how they would survive the next three and a half hours.

 

* * *

  

"Lastly, everyone take care of yourselves. Stay away from dairy and sugar, get lots of sleep, stay hydrated, and practice as often as you can. I'll see you all tomorrow." Ukai stood up, signaling the long-awaited end of rehearsal. Amid calls of "thank you," Iwaizumi leaned forward and slowly began unlacing his character shoes. That had been a really rough rehearsal, and he was so thrilled to be done.

By the time he and Oikawa were packed up and ready to go, most of the cast had already left. Making sure no one else could see, Oikawa rolled up his pants leg to check on his joints. Iwaizumi could see bruising around his knee, and his ankle was swollen a considerable amount. Oikawa sat back and swallowed hard before trying to stand.

"Here." Iwaizumi tried to support him, but Oikawa pushed him off.

"I don't want Ukai to see and start worrying."

"Oikawa."

"I'll be better by tomorrow night." He hurried down the aisle, clearly limping.

Once they got into Iwaizumi's car, they drove in silence. Normally Iwaizumi got nervous when Oikawa was quiet, because of his tendency to overthink, but tonight he knew what was on his mind. He pulled into Oikawa's driveway and turned to say goodbye, but stopped when he saw Oikawa staring out the window.

"Are you ok?" Oikawa covered his mouth with one hand and kept staring at the same point. Iwaizumi put the car in park. "Hey. What's wrong?" There was a long pause as Oikawa thought.

"Do you ever feel like you're wasting your time in theater?" Iwaizumi stared at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"I just..." Oikawa pulled his sleeve over his hand and began fidgeting with it. "I feel like I've wasted so much time on this show. I've spent hours polishing the choreography and learning the harmonies and lines, and no one else seems to care that much. They're wasting all the time that I've spent on this show, and I don't know... I just feel stupid for caring." He laughed bitterly. "I guess that's high school theater."

Iwaizumi sat for a moment trying to form a response. He knew Oikawa responded best to physical contact, so he tentatively slid a hand over the center console.

"Hey, look at me." Oikawa hesitantly turned. He slid his hand into Iwaizumi's. "You've worked so hard on this show, and it really shows. You always look fantastic up there, and you should be proud of this role. And even if the show sucks, people can still walk away and say 'That Jimmy was really fantastic.' Plus, it'll look great on your resume. So don't even think about letting a bunch of incompetent freshmen ruin your performance." Oikawa slowly nodded.

"Thank you, Iwa-chan." Iwaizumi gave his hand a good squeeze.

"Now go get some sleep."

"Umm." Oikawa tried for a laugh. "I don't think I can stand." Iwaizumi sighed then shut the car off.

"Alright, you piece of shit. You owe me."

"I know." Iwaizumi got out of the car then crossed to Oikawa's side. He slung Oikawa's bag on his back, then helped him get to his feet. The two boys struggled towards the house. Oikawa stopped them in front of the door to fish his keys out.

"Aren't your parents home?"

"They had something going on tonight. I guess they already left." He opened the door and limped over the threshold. Iwaizumi supported him as they made their way up the stairs and into his room. Oikawa dropped onto his bed, and Iwaizumi collected enough pillows to elevate his leg.

"You're going to ice this at least once before you go to sleep. Stay here." Despite Oikawa's protestations, he got an ice pack out of the freezer and brought it to him.

"Iwa-chan, you don't have to stay here," Oikawa said as Iwaizumi set a timer for fifteen minutes.

"It's fine. It's not that long, and if I don't take care of you, you certainly won't." He nudged Oikawa over a little then sat next to him on the bed. Worn out from a long day, Oikawa leaned on the other boy's shoulder and closed his eyes. Iwaizumi pulled out his phone and absentmindedly checked his notifications.

"Iwa-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"It felt nice when you were playing with my hair." Iwaizumi stopped, feeling a sudden pang in the pit of his stomach.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Last night. When I took the picture. It felt nice." An uncomfortable aura settled between the two boys.

"What are you trying to say?" Iwaizumi didn't dare turn to his best friend, but he still watched his face out of the corner of his eye.

"Never mind."

The rest of the fifteen minutes were spent in silence. Oikawa seemed sullen when Iwaizumi got up to leave, taking the ice pack downstairs with him.

Iwaizumi sat in the driveway for a while, staring up at Oikawa's window. Why would he say something like that without following it up with a bad joke? It felt strangely honest, which seemed like a bad premonition. All Oikawa had managed to do was get his hopes up unfairly.

The discomfort stayed with him all night, along with that strange pain in his stomach.

 

* * *

 

Opening night finally rolled around. Iwaizumi had to endure Oikawa singing _Another Openin', Another Show_ the entire day. This resulted in many minor injuries for Oikawa.

After school, they hung out with the rest of the cast until call time, at which point they all filed down the stairs to the backstage area and got settled into their dressing rooms. Iwaizumi and Oikawa had the fortune of sharing one of the star dressing rooms. It consisted of a small room with enough space for a counter with two mirrors, a costume rack, and a bathroom. This meant that they could hole up and focus before the show without dealing with the rowdy ensemble members.

Not that either of them really had to get into character. They were practically typecast in these roles. Even so, Oikawa had a playlist that he said helped him get into character. For some odd reason whenever Iwaizumi asked about it, Oikawa pulled his phone out of reach and changed the subject.

The two boys settled into the dressing room and began the process of getting ready. They applied their minimal makeup and styled their hair. Oikawa lounged around as long as he could in his street clothes, listening to his music of course, while Iwaizumi changed. He was lying on the floor supposedly doing the Alexander Technique, but it really just looked like he was being lazy and resting. All was quiet except for the sounds of the other actors in the green room and Iwaizumi doing diction exercises under his breath. Oikawa suddenly popped an ear bud out.

"Iwa-chan, did you grab my mic pack?"

"No." Iwaizumi was preoccupied with clipping his own pack on and threading the wire through his shirt.

"You're making me go alllll the way upstairs to get my own mic which could have been completely avoided with some thoughtfulness?"

"I didn't realize I was your personal assistant." Iwaizumi sat in his chair and pulled his tie around his neck.

"Ugggggggh." With much ado, Oikawa paused his music, set his phone down, and slumped out of the dressing room.

Iwaizumi glanced over at his phone. He had gotten kind of curious as to what was on this playlist. He picked up Oikawa's phone and typed in the password (he had used the same combination since his first phone). The song that was playing was his solo in the show. No surprises there. He loaded the track list.

What the hell. These were just normal songs. Iwaizumi knew most of them. Why was Oikawa so weird about certain things? Curiosity got the better of him, and he started looking through his other playlists.

He had some playlists from older shows they’d done. Here's another playlist called "Dream Roles." The whole playlist was just really great solos from various shows. Book of Mormon, Next to Normal, Heathers, Rent, Les Mis. About what he had expected. Iwaizumi scrolled further and stopped.

The very last playlist was simply named “Hajime.” He tentatively opened it.

He recognized most of the songs. They were almost all about unrequited love or falling for a friend.

He scrolled through all the songs making sure there wasn’t some punchline.

There wasn’t.

He set the phone down slowly.

He tried to think of any other Hajimes that Oikawa could possibly know and came up painfully empty. That playlist had to be for him.

He was having a hard time registering this, but honestly it could explain so much. The constant physical attention, his weird reactions, the stage kissing. He felt his stomach drop through the floor.

_What does this mean?_

The dressing room door swung open, and Iwaizumi jumped as Oikawa walked through.

"That was so much work, and now I'm behind on getting ready. I hope you're happy, Iwa-chan." Iwaizumi could do nothing but stare at the wall. "Iwa-chan, are you ok?"

"Yes!" he replied too quickly, still refusing to meet his friend's eyes. He threw himself in his seat and put all his attention into touching up his hair. Oikawa returned to his chair and picked up his phone. Out of the corner of his eye, Iwaizumi saw his eyes go wide. Oh shit. He forgot to close out of the page, didn't he?

"Iwa-chan." His voice was too controlled. "Were you going through my phone?" Their eyes accidentally met through the mirror. Iwaizumi opened his mouth to deny it, but realized it would be pointless. He turned away.

"Yeah, sorry." The tension between them was nearly tangible. Iwaizumi was ready for anything to break the stillness.

Please, Oikawa. Please laugh and tell me that ok you’ve hidden this guy crush on someone I haven’t even met and what a weird coincidence that you have the same name. Tell me it’s one of your weird jokes, just please _say something._

Instead, Oikawa dropped his phone, grabbed his mic, and hurried out of the room.

That was all the confirmation Iwaizumi needed.

Oikawa was in love with him.

He slumped forward on the counter. How was this happening? Also why was this happening now? Iwaizumi didn't even know how to react. He didn't feel any one emotion; he just felt really, sincerely bad.

How had he not noticed before? People were always saying he was kind of dense, but was he _this_ dense? How long had this been going on? Why him? He had too many questions and no way to get answers. He tried to tell himself that over-thinking solves nothing and would only stress him out more.

He sat up. Speaking of overthinking, Oikawa was going to beat himself up until someone stopped him, and this did not need to go down on opening night. Mustering all the courage he could, he left the dressing room and hurried upstairs.

He ran into Matsukawa and Hanamaki outside the backstage door.

"Hey, what's wrong with Oikawa?" Hanamaki asked lightly.

"What do you mean?" Oh god, he was crying, wasn't he?

"Noya's wearing an Area 51 shirt and hasn't been tackled yet."

"Wait, is something actually wrong?" Matsukawa noticed the guilt in Iwaizumi's reaction.

"Kinda?"

"Makki~!" Speak of the devil. Oikawa trotted up to the group. His demeanor cracked noticeably when he saw Iwaizumi standing there. Oikawa turned away from him. "Makki, will you help me stretch? Or Mattsun. If either of you have a second."

"I got you." Iwaizumi grabbed Oikawa's arm and pulled him towards the stage.

"Iwa-chan..." Oikawa refused to look at him. Iwaizumi caught a glimpse of his face. He looked completely distraught and... guilty? Iwaizumi felt a physical pain in his chest.

He dragged Oikawa to a part of the stage away from where most of the cast was warming up. Oikawa tentatively sat on the floor with his legs outstretched and leaned forward. Iwaizumi knelt behind him and pushed on the small of his back, increasing the stretch. He spoke quietly.

"Look, I really am sorry. I shouldn't have been going through your stuff. I just want to let you know I'm not weirded out by it or anything. I'm not going to start hating you."

"I wasn't going to say anything. I was so afraid of things changing, but..." Oikawa bit his lip. He abruptly sat up and changed stretches. Iwaizumi moved to sit in front of him.

"Look, just tell me what you need. Do you need space tonight?" Oikawa finally looked at him. He nodded. "Ok, how about this. I'll stay out of the dressing room while you're in there, and you don't have to talk to me, ok? But you do have to talk to someone. You know it never helps when you bottle things up and overthink." Oikawa nodded.

"Thank you, Iwa-chan. But," he stopped stretching and sat in a neutral position. "Will you at least be there to pop my back during intermission if I need it?" Iwaizumi blinked at him.

"Is that what I am to you?"

"No one else does it right. Ow! You can't hurt me, I'm the star!" Oikawa barely deflected his blow.

"Want to test that theory?" Oikawa suddenly burst out laughing. "Ok fine if you need your back popped I can do that."

"I feel like you're sucking up to me right now, and I'm liking i- Nooo I spent hours on this hair!"

"You spent five minutes. I was right there with you." As Iwaizumi looked at his best friend he realized how incredible it was that they were able to bounce back so quickly. He agreed with Oikawa. He didn't want things to change. "What would you do if we ever had a real fight?" The question slipped out. He wasn't sure if he meant it rhetorically or not.

"Probably fall apart." Iwaizumi hadn't expected an honest answer. Oikawa grinned, and it was a genuine smile, not his usual dazzling smile worn to get a reaction. His real smile was much more brilliant in its own way. His guard was completely down right now, and for the first time, Iwaizumi noticed the complete adoration and affection for him in his best friend's eyes. He felt overwhelmed. How had he never noticed it before?

"Hey." They both jumped. They hadn't heard Matsukawa and Hanamaki approach. "If you two are done gazing into each other’s eyes, they need to do mic check."

"That wasn't gazing." Oikawa and Iwaizumi suddenly became very preoccupied with putting their mics on.

"I'd say that was some textbook gazing right there. Matsukawa?"

"There was definitely deep, meaningful eye contact, call it what you will." They were interrupted (thank god) by Ukai's voice over the god mic.

"If you have a mic, please come to the front of the stage for mic check. If you do not, clear the stage. We open house in five minutes." Calls of "thank you, five" came from the cast as the stage cleared. Matsukawa gave one last knowing nod to Oikawa and Iwaizumi before heading backstage.

 

* * *

 

The show proceeded almost without a hitch. True to his word, Iwaizumi stayed out of the dressing room and let Oikawa focus. (With the exception of popping his back at intermission. How he always managed to get himself so out of line was beyond Iwaizumi.)

At the end of the night, the two boys changed in silence. Before Iwaizumi left, he asked, "So do you need a ride tomorrow?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"Alright. I'll pick you up at 2:30. Unless you need to get here early."

"2:30 is fine. And Iwa-chan," he looked at the floor. "Thanks again. I'll talk to someone tonight."

"Ok. And I'm sorry again. That was wrong of me." Oikawa just nodded. "Ok, good night."

"Good night."

 

* * *

 

The ride to the theater the next day was completely silent. Iwaizumi had so much going through his mind. He wanted to make sure Oikawa talked to someone and had slept well and was ready for the show. He also had a million other questions, but when he tried to form one in his mind, it was never quite what he wanted to ask. He was sure Oikawa was experiencing something similar, so they stayed quiet the whole drive.

The first show that day went well. The audience was pretty good for a matinee crowd. After the show, the cast hung out and ate supper out in the commons before their evening performance. Iwaizumi sat down in a corner and was soon joined by Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

"So, we had a fun discussion with Oikawa last night." Hanamaki set his plate down next to Iwaizumi.

"Is he doing ok?" Iwaizumi interrupted him.

"He's fine. He's just managed to find a way to make this his fault and is beating himself up. I mean, you know the kid."

"What we wanna know," Matsukawa interjected. "Is how you're doing?" Iwaizumi tried to run a hand through his hair and was impeded by the sheer power of hairspray.

"Honestly, I've been so worried about him that I haven't really thought about it."

"Typical."

"What?" Matsukawa shook his head and swallowed his food before answering.

"You guys are so predictable." Iwaizumi wasn't sure how to take that.

"Ok but you haven't told him how you feel about him yet, have you?"

"Ah, no. I should probably decide how I feel before I try to talk to him about it." Hanamaki and Matsukawa exchanged glances, and Iwaizumi got that all-too-familiar feeling that he was missing something.

"Is there anything that would help you make up your mind?" Hanamaki asked benignly, popping a grape into his mouth.

"I don't know I'm just..." Iwaizumi rubbed his forehead. "I guess I'm still just trying to absorb the fact that it actually happened, and I'm not just making this all up. I mean..." He shifted in his seat. "I have liked him for a while now, but I've never even thought about what would happen if he liked me back and a relationship was actually possible. He's my best friend, and I'm really afraid to lose or mess up what we have now." Matsukawa leaned in to whisper something to Hanamaki. Iwaizumi was getting fed up with being left out of the loop.

"Well," Hanamaki began. "You're right. You guys have a good thing going. But you never know. If you guys tried, I think you'd be great in a relationship together."

"You really think so?"

"I mean you've known each other so long, and you have history. I can't see you guys falling apart when things get rough or when the mushy feelings go away."

"Well, and it's either that or keep beating around the bush, which you two have been doing way too long," Matsukawa interjected. "And that hasn't worked out too well for you guys. Hit me up." Hanamaki tossed a grape towards him.

"Well, however it pans out, be sure to keep us updated. Oh shit, sorry was that your eye?" He picked up the grape that had deflected off Matsukawa's face.

"No, you're good. The one thing, Iwaizumi, is you're not allowed to platonic break up. You guys are above that."

"Yeah, seriously. If Iwaizumi Hajime and Oikawa Tooru ever stopped being friends I'm pretty sure the earth would fall out of orbit."

"Do it for humanity."

"Well and honestly, that's not us telling you what to do. Like I said, you have a solid thing going, and we know you guys are going to be able to move beyond this. I mean you were already talking normally last night and... having a moment." He tossed a grape up and almost caught it in his mouth.

"Quit wasting food, man." Matsukawa threw a spoon at him. Iwaizumi smiled.

Yeah, they were right. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the way Oikawa looked at him last night while they were stretching. Iwaizumi was one of the lucky few who got to see beyond Oikawa's persona, and he valued that so much. Every time he thought of the honest adoration in that look he received, he felt a strange emotion he couldn't begin to name. All he knew was it made it a bit harder to breathe and felt a little like getting punched in the gut, but not in a bad way. It felt like stage fright and dizziness and warmth.

Maybe it'd be worth the risk if Oikawa would always look at him that way.

 

* * *

 

"Then let the fun continue! Marry me, Millie. Who needs emeralds? We can make it on green glass."

"Speak for yourself."

"Where are you going, to find a new boss?"

"No. I mean, yes. I mean... I don't know!"

"Millie!" Hinata stormed offstage. Oikawa tried to follow her off but was intercepted. Defeated, he walked off the other side of the stage. Iwaizumi could see his exit from where he was standing in the wings. The second Oikawa was out of the lights, his entire demeanor changed. He really was an incredible actor.

The number ended, and the ensemble cleared the stage for Hinata's big solo. Across the stage, Iwaizumi could see Oikawa enter the wing opposite from him. They were too far apart to see each other’s faces clearly, but Iwaizumi could tell Oikawa was looking at him.

He turned his attention back to Hinata as the song picked up and her clear belt rang throughout the theater.

" _Gimme, gimme that thing called love_

_I crave it_

_Gimme, gimme that thing called love_

_I'll brave it_

_Thick or thin, rich or poor times_

_Give me years and I'll want more time._ "

Iwaizumi glanced over and saw that Oikawa was looking steadily at him. When their eyes met, he didn't break eye contact. Iwaizumi felt that same conflicting emotion he'd been experiencing lately. Abruptly, he turned and went into the next wing, preparing for his entrance. He undid his tie, flipped up his collar, and tousled his hair.

_Think drunk, think drunk._

_Just don't think about his eyes._

* * *

 

Iwaizumi dropped into his chair and sat for a few good moments rubbing his face, unwilling to stand. Two show days were always so depleting. The dressing room door opened behind him, and Oikawa entered, humming the finale.

"Good show?" Iwaizumi asked.

"I had a really good show. The audience was great."

"It was." They lapsed back into silence, and Iwaizumi begrudgingly stood up to change. The two boys hung up their costumes, tidied the room, and were preparing to leave, when Oikawa suddenly stopped him.

"Hey, Iwa-chan, can we talk?"

"Yeah, sure." Oikawa sat sideways in his chair, and Iwaizumi followed his lead. Oikawa fixed his gaze on the small space between their knees as he gathered his courage.

"Alright, so... last night happened..." He cleared his throat and started over. "Basically, this is important to me, so I'd like to have a chance to say it properly." He looked up with an expression of fear and apprehension. Iwaizumi felt his heart twist.

"Sure." He didn't know what else to say. Oikawa took a deep breath.

"Ok, I'm just going to say it, and then let me qualify it." He took a moment to muster his courage before fixing Iwaizumi with a surprisingly steady gaze. "I like you, Iwa-chan. I really like you and have for a long time and, ugh, I wish there was a better way to say it. I don't really know how to say..." He looked down again, beginning to pull at his jacket sleeve. He spoke quickly like he had practiced it. "I just feel so happy when I'm with you. You're always there to take care of me and cheer me up and buy me things, and I realized one day that you mean the world to me, and I didn't think they had invented an emotion to describe what I felt, but then I realized that I accidentally really fell in love with you.

"Our friendship is so great, and I appreciate it so much, but it's not strong enough. I just really... I'm really attached to you, and I'd like to take it a step further. I'm sorry, I know I said some really weird things just now, but..." Iwaizumi had never seen his best friend look this vulnerable in his life. They stared at each other for a moment as Iwaizumi processed what he had just heard. He wanted to reach out and comfort Oikawa, but he was worried it might send mixed signals.

"Ok, thank you for telling me. Um..." Iwaizumi had to be careful. Oikawa had presented him with a raw, open wound, and he was responsible for it. "I wish I could give you an answer right now, but the truth is, I need to sort some things out. I need a little time to think before I answer, if that's-"

"Yeah, that's fine. That's great. Please think about it, and uh, hit me up whenever." Oikawa looked much more relieved.

"Ok, sure. But we, uh... we should head out now. They need to close the theater."

"Right, yes." Oikawa quickly stood up and gathered all his belongings.

They didn't speak again the rest of the night other than a quick goodbye and arranging a time to meet the next day.

 

* * *

 

Iwaizumi sat on his bed staring at the wall. He replayed what he could remember of Oikawa's confession in his head. It pulled his heart to see his best friend so vulnerable and so afraid. But at the same time, his simple, awkward confession had been so sincere. Iwaizumi genuinely didn't know what to do.

His impulse was to say yes. Honestly, when he really thought about it, he realized Oikawa had given breath to Iwaizumi's own thoughts. He was also really hopelessly attached and knew friendship wasn't even strong enough anymore.

Impulsively, he grabbed his laptop and pulled up YouTube. If he tried, he could remember some of the songs that had been on that playlist. His chest felt tight as he compiled a playlist of all the songs he could remember. It occurred to him that this was probably not the best idea as he grabbed his headphones and hit play.

He sat there, doing nothing but listening to the music for a long time. He experienced a month's worth of emotions in the span of an hour and a half.

By the time he shut his computer down for the night, he had his answer.

 

* * *

 

The last show is always the most emotional. There was a lot of hugging and high-fiving backstage as everyone made their way downstairs to change one final time before striking the set and cleaning the theater.

Iwaizumi made it to the dressing room before Oikawa, probably because everyone wanted to hug and congratulate Oikawa, who wanted to be hugged and congratulated. After a while, he finally made his way into the dressing room with a huge smile on his face.

"Great show, Iwa-chan."

"Same for you. You really worked hard, and it payed off." Oikawa grinned and turned his attention to getting dressed. Iwaizumi sat in his chair and wondered if he could really go through with this.

As Oikawa began collecting his belongings, Iwaizumi asked, "Hey, can we talk?" Oikawa looked surprised.

"Yeah." They sat down the same way they had the night before. Oikawa's happy, confident air from a moment ago was replaced by a nervous one. Iwaizumi made himself start speaking before he lost his nerve.

"I thought about what you said all night, and honestly I should probably think about it more, but I have an answer. I thought about what you said about friendship not being enough, and when I really considered it, I realized you had basically put my thoughts into words. I've been so confused lately, and it's just because you've been driving me crazy. I just... I really like you, too, and I'm ready to go further."

Oikawa stared at him in shock for a few moments before turning away and- Wait.

"Oikawa, are you... Are you actually blushing?"

"Shut up!"

"Oh my god, you are." Iwaizumi stood and tried to pull his hands away from his face, but Oikawa wriggled away.

"You're such a bully!"

"Stop moving. I need to capture this moment in my mind forever."

"Iwa-chaaan. It's because you went and said something really sweet, I-" Iwaizumi succeeded in removing his hands, and found himself face-to-face with Oikawa.

Iwaizumi felt his heart twist, but not in an uncomfortable way. Oikawa began laughing as a tear rolled down his cheek. His face was slightly flushed and his eyes were glassy, but he looked so happy. Iwaizumi met those eyes so full of pure, unadulterated love, and he realized he had absolutely made the right decision. His heart felt so full in this moment.

Impulsively, he kissed Oikawa on the cheek. He realized he was still holding his wrists and loosened his grip enough to slide his hands into Oikawa's. Oikawa laughed again.

"I don't even know what to do now. I never expected to get this far."

"Honestly, we've already been dating for a long time. Not that much has to change."

"Well, there are some things..." Oikawa stood and looked purposefully into his eyes. Iwaizumi recognized the expression. It was the same one he wore right before their stage kiss. Oikawa slowly lifted a hand to Iwaizumi's cheek, searching his eyes for permission. Iwaizumi leaned in, feeling the thrill of knowing there would be nothing in the way this time.

Their lips tentatively met, and they shared a short, chaste kiss. They pulled back, both grinning like idiots before Iwaizumi pushed into another kiss. He wrapped his arms around Oikawa's neck, pulling him in as close as possible.

If the world had to end during Iwaizumi's lifetime, he decided that this should be the moment it happens. He had never felt happier in his life. He wanted time to freeze here so he could fully feel and enjoy everything about this moment: the taste of Oikawa's lips, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist, his familiar scent.

Unfortunately, the world had other plans.

A short knock preceded the door flying open.

"Alright, if you two aren't done I'm kicking you out because I need to clean..." Matsukawa stood in the doorway, trying to figure out why Iwaizumi and Oikawa had suddenly flung themselves into their chairs and were both staring at him through the mirror, covering their mouths. "Holy shit. Holy shit, Hanamaki! Get over here!" Iwaizumi put his face in his hands. Oikawa stifled a nervous giggle.

"What? What's going on?" Hanamaki popped into the room and quickly sensed the atmosphere. "Wait did something happen? Oikawa? Are you blushing?"

"No!" He covered his face with his hands, and Iwaizumi laughed at him to cover his own embarrassment.

"You know, Hanamaki made a valid point. _Did_ something happen?" Matsukawa asked. "I'd like to know what exactly I walked in on." Oikawa and Iwaizumi shared a look before laughing again. Oikawa reached out and squeezed Iwaizumi's hand.

"We'll tell you later," Oikawa replied.

"Oh my god." Hanamaki and Matsukawa turned towards each other. "Oh my goddd!"

"You were so right!" Hanamaki yelled.

"I told you!"

"Wait, what?" Oikawa asked.

"We'll tell you later." Matsukawa threw his words back at him with a grin.

"In the meantime, we have some cleaning to get to, so excuse us."

"Yes, time to spray the gay away," Matsukawa said sagely as he held up a bottle of Lysol.

"Gentlemen," Hanamaki addressed Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "All I'm going to say is, it's about damn time." With that, he headed out the door. The two boys stared after him.

"I guess we're not actually as subtle as we think we are," Iwaizumi commented to Matsukawa as they moved towards the door.

"You're really not." Before leaving the room, Oikawa leaned in and gently kissed Iwaizumi again. Iwaizumi felt a thrill as he realized casual kisses would become the norm now.

"Yeah, I'm still in here," Matsukawa reminded them.

"It's your fault for interrupting earlier," Oikawa replied. "Ready?" he asked Iwaizumi.

"Yeah."

They took their first steps out the door as boyfriends.

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to greattrashking for doing a beta and to my #1 enabler, glass_owl for putting up with me constantly crying over this and for doing a beta. Please check out her brilliant IwaOis.  
> My Tumblr and Twitter are in my bio. If you enjoyed, please show some love!  
> Thanks for reading!


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